Fri Apr 1, 2011 7:36am GMT
* Australia floods seen causing deeper losses in Queensland coal output
* New loss estimates by Resources Council exceed earlier govt tallies
* Coking coal worst hit
By James Regan
SYDNEY, April 1 (Reuters) - Australia's Queensland state lost about 30 million tonnes of coal production, or 15 percent its annual output, due to extensive summer flooding, the Queensland Resources Council said on Friday, suggesting official estimates of lost output may be too low.
The Council forecast total coal production for fiscal 2010/11 from the nation's main coal mining state will be cut to 170 million tonnes from a previous estimate of 200 million tonnes, based on feedback from coal-handling terminals.
The council's board of directors includes executives from some of the world's biggest coal mining companies, including BHP Billiton , Xstrata , Rio Tinto and AngloAmerican .
The extent of lost production indicates the coal mining industry is only slowly recovering from the devastating floods that slashed production and damaged infrastructure between late November and February.
"The recovery has been a very slow process," Jim Devine, a spokesman for the mining group told Reuters.
The floods have driven both thermal and metallurgical coal prices up significantly.
Prices in Asia for metallurgical or coking coal, which is used for steel-making, are expected to increase by nearly 50 percent for the second quarter of 2011, with the contract for coking coal expected to settle around $330 per tonne, up from $225 a tonne in the first quarter.
The floods also helped push up thermal coal prices, with Japanese thermal coal contract for fiscal 2011, reaching a record settlement of about $130 per tonne this week.
Traditionally around 85 percent of Queensland's coal is shipped out, meaning export losses could be as high as 25.5 million tonnes.
The Queensland Treasury in its mid-year economic and fiscal review estimated around 15 million tonnes in coal exports is expected to be delayed or lost in 2010-11.
"Coking coal is taking the majority of the hit because it represents the majority of the exports," Devine said.
"We still have three out of four coal mines in Queensland working under transitional environmental programmes to remove water form their sites," he added.
The council's estimate of 30 million tonnes in lost production is also well above those compiled from a Reuters poll in late January that showed the floods would cause 11.3 million tonnes in lost coking coal production in 2011, representing about 5 percent of world exports.
The poll also showed losses to thermal coal production will be much less significant, reaching around 5.5 million tonnes, or less than 1 percent of world trade.
Typically, Queensland produced 60 percent metallurgical coal and 40 percent thermal coal, Devine said. (Additional reporting by Rebekah Kebede in PERTH; Editing by Mark Bendeich, sourced Reuters)
* New loss estimates by Resources Council exceed earlier govt tallies
* Coking coal worst hit
By James Regan
SYDNEY, April 1 (Reuters) - Australia's Queensland state lost about 30 million tonnes of coal production, or 15 percent its annual output, due to extensive summer flooding, the Queensland Resources Council said on Friday, suggesting official estimates of lost output may be too low.
The Council forecast total coal production for fiscal 2010/11 from the nation's main coal mining state will be cut to 170 million tonnes from a previous estimate of 200 million tonnes, based on feedback from coal-handling terminals.
The council's board of directors includes executives from some of the world's biggest coal mining companies, including BHP Billiton , Xstrata , Rio Tinto and AngloAmerican .
The extent of lost production indicates the coal mining industry is only slowly recovering from the devastating floods that slashed production and damaged infrastructure between late November and February.
"The recovery has been a very slow process," Jim Devine, a spokesman for the mining group told Reuters.
The floods have driven both thermal and metallurgical coal prices up significantly.
Prices in Asia for metallurgical or coking coal, which is used for steel-making, are expected to increase by nearly 50 percent for the second quarter of 2011, with the contract for coking coal expected to settle around $330 per tonne, up from $225 a tonne in the first quarter.
The floods also helped push up thermal coal prices, with Japanese thermal coal contract for fiscal 2011, reaching a record settlement of about $130 per tonne this week.
Traditionally around 85 percent of Queensland's coal is shipped out, meaning export losses could be as high as 25.5 million tonnes.
The Queensland Treasury in its mid-year economic and fiscal review estimated around 15 million tonnes in coal exports is expected to be delayed or lost in 2010-11.
"Coking coal is taking the majority of the hit because it represents the majority of the exports," Devine said.
"We still have three out of four coal mines in Queensland working under transitional environmental programmes to remove water form their sites," he added.
The council's estimate of 30 million tonnes in lost production is also well above those compiled from a Reuters poll in late January that showed the floods would cause 11.3 million tonnes in lost coking coal production in 2011, representing about 5 percent of world exports.
The poll also showed losses to thermal coal production will be much less significant, reaching around 5.5 million tonnes, or less than 1 percent of world trade.
Typically, Queensland produced 60 percent metallurgical coal and 40 percent thermal coal, Devine said. (Additional reporting by Rebekah Kebede in PERTH; Editing by Mark Bendeich, sourced Reuters)
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